Stephan Bonnar: “I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Even though he may have entered UFC 153 as an overwhelming underdog, light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar stepped into the Octagon against pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva with the mindset of a man who was about to shock the world and emerge with his hand raised. Obviously, things did not go according to plan with Silva showing off his speed and skill-set in a sequence of events resulting in an opening round TKO.

While Silva may have done a bit of showboating and ultimately stopped Bonnar with the single significant strike he threw, “The American Psycho” still has his head held high when looking back at the bout.

“I’m definitely happy. I’m so thankful they gave me that fight. I’m apologetic that I didn’t do better but whatever. I’ve got to get over that. But I’m happy. I have nothing to be ashamed of,” explained Bonnar in an interview with The MMA Hour.

“Losing sucks and it’s hard to swallow,” he admitted before making sure to maintain perspective in terms of the big picture. “I went in there with Anderson and followed my game plan and did what I had to do. That’s MMA. One little mistake, one little opening is all it takes. With a guy like Anderson Silva, that’s all he needs.”

Of the opening Silva took advantage of, Bonnar said he was shocked by how quickly the end came and gave “The Spider” his due for being perhaps the best fighter the sport has ever seen.

“I’ve never been kneed like that. I couldn’t breathe at all. I couldn’t move. I was just crippled, waiting for my body to be able to get some air. It felt like an eternity and the ref stepped it. When I saw the fight, I was like, ‘Whoa, that was pretty quick.’ It felt like I was trying to breathe longer than that,” said the impressed Bonnar. “The way he placed that knee and timed it, the little trip and push, the whole setup and transition, yeah, there’s a part of me that is in awe of him.”

Bonnar didn’t elaborate much on what his plans were for the future, simply saying he “wasn’t in a position” to demand anything from his employers after the opportunity he received last weekend. However, he certainly didn’t say he was retired either.

The loss to Silva snapped a three-fight winning streak for Bonnar and dropped his overall record to 15-8. The defeat also marked the first time the 35-year old had been finished by way of strikes/submission.